


Champion

by Work_In_Progress



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-20
Updated: 2019-01-20
Packaged: 2019-10-13 02:00:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17479100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Work_In_Progress/pseuds/Work_In_Progress
Summary: An alien race comes to Earth to take Earth's Champion to the Arena.





	Champion

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone. So I took a break from my ongoing fic to write something shorter (btw, sorry about it's updates being in the shorts compilation, but it's a little late to change 'Wolves' over to it's own thing). It seemed a little long to put as a short one shot.  
> Oh! BTW this is Kalex  
> I own nothing in relation to Supergirl or it's characters. I also don't have anyone to edit, so all mistakes are my own.  
> I don't watch Supergirl anymore besides the odd clip here or there, so this will obviously be a complete split from cannon.  
> As always, comments (good or bad) are welcome. Thanks for reading!

Kara Zor-el stood with her spine straight and her mouth set into an unfeeling line. She would have time after this to break down, to be just Kara and not Supergirl. She had arrived on this planet, a broken little girl, and she refused to let that look like what she was leaving it as.

 

She took a moment to think back on the last decade of her life, and let herself (for just one moment) grieve. Here. Now. Before she lost home for the second time in her life… there would be no Alex where she was going. (And let’s face it, as much as the blonde was hopelessly oblivious on so many things… she knew that this… well this was going to be the hardest part of what she was going to have to do.)

 

There was no one else, no way to fix this (like Alex had tried so desperately to do… like everyone had tried so desperately to do). She would shoulder this burden, just as she had shouldered her lost world. 

 

Kara searched the crowd, trying to zero in on the direction of Alex’s heartbeat. Her foster sister…. Kara looked down at the glint of the setting sun reflected off the metal of the band around her wrist… a band that (given the circumstances) she let herself imagine for a moment, meant all the things she had secretly longed for on this planet. She knew the map etched into the band was Alex’s way home, a map for her when this trial was finished. (Of course, Alex wouldn’t even discuss what would happen if that never came to be) Kara clinched her fist, and hoped that Alex would forgive her for failing. Kara knew the stone that was sealed into center was only one half of a whole. She knew that the bracelet on Alex’s wrist matched her own. On Krypton they would have meant something more, but of course that was only a desire that Kara took out to look at late at night with only the stars as a witness. 

 

She tried not to be angry that Alex wasn’t here, by her side for her last moments on this planet. She could hear her, near, somewhere in the crowd. The blonde could hear Lena’s heartbeat as well, and although it hurt… Kara was glad there would be someone there for Alex.

 

There was a flash, and the platform appeared.

 

“Greetings Earth!” Boomed the Alien on the platform, “We have come to retrieve your Champion! Who from the house of El, does Earth send?”.

 

“Kara Zor-El!”

 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

The transmission came in while Alex and Kara had been enjoying (a rare chance at) a ‘bonding’ night. (‘Sister night’ had been replaced by ‘bonding’ at the blonde Kryptonian’s insistence. “After all,” she had argued, “Sometimes we include other people! You can’t classify it as ‘sister’ night anymore!” Alex had smiled her half smile, rolled her eyes affectionately, and not mentioned that since both of their ventures into single-hood, their nights together were almost every night they weren’t at work.)

 

Kara’s phone went off first, she was in the process of (at least considering) moving from her warm spot lounged against the darker haired woman when a second phone went off. Both women groaned, Kara threw her head back in dismay as Alex picked up the line.

 

“Danvers.” Alex shoved at the blonde head pinning her to the side of the sofa, pushing at Kara until she moved, and glaring at her as she massaged her now soar shoulder. The blonde had the decency to look apologetic before she zipped off to replace her (more like Alex’s) comfy DEO sweatpants and oversized t-shirt. She came back to Alex rubbing at her temples and hanging up the phone.

 

They had literally just finished a grueling two weeks of one alien after the next meta-human, and if the Kryptonian was tired, she knew her human had to be barely conscious. The blonde had secretly had the evening planned for maximum Alex resting, but it looked like that plan was going to have to go on hold for a little longer.

 

“We have to go to work.” The dark haired woman stated unnecessarily, “I’ll go down and grab my bike and meet you-“ Alex attempted to stifle the very girly squeal (she will deny it ever happened, even under threat of death) that she let out as the blonde scoffed, and scooped her up bridal style. “Damn it Kara! I’ve told you a thousand times not to do that!” She punctuated each word with a slap to Kara’s shoulder.

 

Kara smiled cheekily down at her and clutched her favorite human a little closer to her chest. “One thousand and one.”

 

And then Supergirl sped off to the DEO, a still grumbling Alex snuggling a little closer to ward off the chill. (Hey! She was in normal jeans and a soft grey sweater, not exactly flying apparel, and Kara was like a personal heater.)

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

The DEO was a swarm of bodies rushing from one place to another. Kara ignored Alex’s glare after placing her gently down onto the recently fixed DEO balcony. They headed into the control room side by side, agents parting for them as they moved.

 

“What have we got?” The brunette asked in her best ‘assistant director’ voice. The blonde gave a serious nod and copied Alex’s stance, hands on hips.

 

“Incoming Alien message.” J’onn stated bluntly, still staring at the big screens on the wall in from of him. “Mr. Schott!” He bellowed over his right shoulder, causing an approaching Winn to pick up his pace, so he was tapping on a tablet next to them.

 

“Right. Right, and…. Here we go” Winn tapped at something on his screen, bringing up a map of their star system. The map displayed a red blinking dot located somewhere around Mars, and closing the distance. Another tap and a sound file appeared.

 

The sound was somewhat distorted, and in a language that Kara didn’t immediately recognize. 

 

“Greetings to the Earthlings. We the Gralkin have come for your Champion….” There was static again, and then, “Honor, we will arrive presently.”

 

Kara’s eyes had squinted at the stilted translation.

 

Alex looked at her questioningly, “You know who the Gralkin are? What are they talking about?”

 

J’onn spoke up before the Kryptonian could answer, “The Gralkin are famous across the universe as the great sportsman.” At the raised eyebrow from the agent, and a still unresponsive blonde, he sighed and continued, “Think of it as extreme games. Arenas.”

 

“Director! Alien ship entering Earth’s orbit!” Vas yelled over the buzz of voices. “They are headed for National City!”

 

“Of course, they are…” J’onn brought a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose. “Alright people, let’s send out the welcoming party! Supergirl, Danvers, and Schott with me! Someone, get Director Lane on the phone and let her know we have company, she can deal with phoning the President.”

 

Alex dragged Kara away from the command center and towards the locker room so she could suit up. “Hey, you ok?”

 

“What? Oh. Yeah. Yeah, totally fine.” The blonde looked anything but convincing, but it seemed that the skeptical look she received from Alex was all the pushing the brunette was going to do for now.  
Alex didn’t look convinced, but left the blonde in the hall as she went in to change so they could leave.

 

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

The four touched down in the middle of the square, where far above, the spaceship hovered. There was a flash, and a platform appeared in the empty center of the lawn, a lone figure in the center.

 

The alien was taller than a human, probably at least seven feet tall. His/ Her form was wide, the parts of its body not covered by the shining green material that seemed to made up its robes. They had four legs, much like a horse, but a somewhat humanoid top. Their two arms were raised, and the look on their green face appeared non-malicious… but it was somewhat hard to tell with the squinted eyes and antenna.

 

They stepped forward and addressed the growing crowd, its words echoing around the open space. The words that came forth were in their native tongue, but it seemed that they had a translator of sorts… since it was suddenly in English.

 

“Earthlings! We are the Gralkin! I am Rotra. We travel the galaxies seeking champions! We have come to retrieve Earth’s Champion! We have heard of this planet’s protectors of Krypton’s house of El. We will take your Champion to compete in the Arena!”

 

The sound was almost deafening with as close to the alien platform as the band of Superfriends were. Alex whipped her head towards Kara, who was standing with her back straight and eyes on the Gralkin.

 

“Earth has no Champion for the Turney!” J’onn stated loudly, “The house of El is not recognized in such a way on Earth. I volunteer as Earth’s Champion.”

 

Kara went to protest, but the Gralkin was faster, “We have heard of the House of El that live now on this planet. Is it not true that Earth’s Champion defeated the conquest from the Daxamites? The house of El has two Champions, one will return with us to Gralkin to compete. No other’s will be accepted.”

 

Kara stepped forward and around Alex who had consciously (… or unconsciously, the blonde knew that protecting her was so ingrained in the brunette now, that she may not even be aware of the fact that she did it) put herself slightly ahead of her. She was unsurprised when she heard Kal-el land behind her.

 

“What about a human-“ 

 

“Alex, no!” Kara cut her off before she could even attempt to take her place.

 

“Only one of the House of El, who holds Champion of this planet, will be accepted. We go to retrieve other contestants. We will return for your Champion in… four of your Earth months.”

 

“And what if we refuse?” Clark asked, stepping forward to put himself in line with Alex, J’onn, and Kara (Winn was somewhere behind them, Kara was sure, but what could he do in this instance?).

 

“Then we will destroy your planet. We shall return, prepare your Champion.”

 

And before anyone could say anything else (And Alex sure looked like she wanted to say several something elses… and probably none that would be polite to repeat) The platform raised back up for several stories and then disappeared.

 

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

“Absolutely not. You can NOT seriously be thinking about going along with this!” Alex snapped angrily, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at Kara and J’onn from her position at the table they were all standing around in the DEO.

 

“Can they actually do it? Destroy Earth?” Lucy Lane asked tiredly, rubbing her temples. If it had been a different day, the blonde would have felt badly for her.

 

“They can.” J’onn said bluntly. “Their race is incredibly advanced. Though they glorify battle, their advances in science are more than impressive.”

 

“And you!” Alex spun around the poke Kara in the sternum, “You can’t seriously think this is the only way! You always think there is another way! Where is Cat Grant when you need her!? We have to come up with a plan!”

 

“Alex! There is no other plan! Earth has to provide a Champion, that means Clark or me.”

 

Alex looked over J’onn’s shoulder to see a fidgeting Superman standing near the door. 

 

Kara looked over too. Looked over at the man that her baby cousin had become. The blonde knew that it would be her, knew that Clark (because that was who he was, had always been. He was born Kal-El, but he had been Clark Kent his entire life… raised on Earth…) and knew that he would be selfish in this thing. He had Lois, and Supergirl… well Supergirl was more of an Alien then he was.

 

“Clark can’t. It has to be me.” The blonde said firmly. She looked to Alex, who she could see wanted to argue. The blonde watched Alex deflate slightly (after all, Clark and Lois had bonded recently, and there was the baby on the way to consider.)

 

“We’ll find another way.” Alex stated firmly. 

 

“Right. Ok people, we are going to find anything we can to work this out.” J’onn said with finality. “Until then, we need to plan for worst case scenario.”

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

Worst case scenario ended up being a lot of time (that she would much rather be eating pot-stickers and cuddling with Alex… but of course Alex wasn’t about to just give up) doing research on the Gralkin, and training.

 

Alex had gotten a few contacts from Maggie who were in solar systems closer to the Gralkin. Kara didn’t ask how that had gone, but she assumed ‘awkward’. Alex had been pouring over everything she could find on them. From what she explained, it sounded too much like Hunger Games for her liking. 

“Alright, so rules seem pretty simple… don’t die.” Alex glared at Winn, who visibly gulped at the look, and went back to his bullet points on the screen.

 

“Right.” Alex rolled her eyes and continued, “So the Gralkin don’t seem to participate in the games themselves. They have a moon specifically set up as their arena, and go around pulling participants to play in the games.”

 

“I had only heard of the Gralkin in passing.” J’onn supplied, “But their games are pretty famous.” (Kara had admitted somewhat sheepishly, that she did remember her Aunt Astra mention them in passing… She believed that Krypton had sent a Champion, that they hadn’t returned was something that the blonde kept to herself.)

 

“You can go with whatever you can take with you, and the object is to avoid any traps, and then to be in the last five survivors.”

 

“Ok, great. What can you tell me about the arena Winn?” Alex asked (Kara knew Alex had been pouring through the rules to see if there was a loophole they could exploit. Winn had been assigned to gathering information on the arena). “What system is it in?”

 

“System 10751, Slartivian,” He swiped on his tablet and brought up the picture of the system in question, “but as you can see… We have a slight problem…”

 

“Fuck.”

 

Kara couldn’t agree with Alex’s assessment more whole-heartedly, as they both stared at the system circling around a blue sun.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Alex had delegated every member who was any use in a lab… to the lab, attempting to find a way to give Kara some kind of advantage on a plant where she most likely would have no powers.

 

Kara had expected for Alex to throw herself into helping her survive. It was what Alex did… saw a problem (usually revolving around Kara and her prolonged existence) and threw herself into the fray 110 percent. (It was also the reason that Alex had so many scars, emotional and physical. Kara had taken it upon herself to continue to pester J’onn for newer, better gear to protect her most important human.) It was still somewhat of a shock though, when Alex walked into the DEO with Lena Luthor at her side. 

 

Kara of course, knew that they were at least friendly acquaintances. After James’s betrayal and Lena’s initial outrage with Supergirl, Alex had taken it upon herself to make sure that Lena knew who Supergirl was. It was (Alex had said) the most obvious way to mend the bridge between them. After all, Kara loved Lena and had felt terrible about deceiving her. (Alex of course tried to take all the blame, Kara was pretty sure that it had actually scored bigger points with Lena that she had.) Lena and Alex had consulted each other periodically since, on more scientific endeavors. Lena had also soundly trounced both Danvers at monopoly last game night. (The blonde was pretty sure that Alex let her win, but she would never voice that opinion out loud.)

 

Eliza had been called in for any help she could offer, Alex begrudgingly admitting that it would be useful to have another set of hands. Eliza had come in, hugged Kara tightly and told her not to worry. “We’ll figure this out Kara, we both know Alex isn’t going to give up without a fight.” And then she had disappeared into a lab where Winn was allegedly working on an adaption of a suit.

 

“We just don’t know enough about the Arena,” Alex was saying to Lena, who was hunched over a microscope, “the gravity… we need to find a way to- Oh, hey Kara.”

 

The Kryptonian walked in, today she was simply Kara. She had taken to wearing comfortable jeans and Alex’s old DEO t-shirts around the base. At this point, her secret identity was going to be gone soon anyway.

 

“Hey you two. I wanted to see if you two were ready for a break? Lunch?” the blonde asked kindly, raising two greasy paper bags.

 

“You are a goddess,” Lena said with a smile, straightening her back with an audible crack. Alex winced in sympathy, but dug out some napkins.

 

Alex smiled at the blonde as she dug into her favorite hot dog.

 

They ate in silence, it had only been two weeks since the Gralkin had left but it seemed like it had been both no time at all, and an eternity. 

 

“What are you working on?” Kara asked while dipping her fry into her vanilla milkshake.

 

“It’s brilliant really,” Lena said excitedly, “Alex really is quite remarkable.” She mentioned, giving the agent a sly side eye. 

 

Alex scoffed and rolled her eyes, but reached around for a tablet with the hand that wasn’t currently shoving food into her mouth. (Kara watched on in exasperation, Alex had a tendency to overlook her own excellence… really, she knew it was mostly her own fault. Alex had been the shining star, until a girl from space had crashed into her life and pushed her into the shadows… The blonde wondered if after she was gone, if Alex would be able to come out and shine. The world deserved to see that…)

 

“We’ve been trying to compare any data we have on similar systems. We have a pretty good idea of what the atmosphere will be like, so we are trying to develop a way to have a sustainable, containable, oxygen source … like a helmet but without having to hall around a tank or need to have heavy equipment.”

 

“Oh, that sounds cool… and useful, why didn’t we already have something like that for the DEO?” Kara asked, using her spoon to slurp up the last bit of her large shake, and looking longingly at the mostly full chocolate shake in front of Alex.

 

Alex gave a playful sigh, and pushed her cup towards a (now) perky Kryptonian. “I guess we just never had a reason to…”

 

“Well it would have been useful when I pushed Rozz into outer space for sure…. Or for you when you saved me from outer space,” The blonde paused in her destruction of the second shake and creased her brow, “Actually… how did YOU survive in space when you opened the pod to get me inside?”

 

Lena’s eyebrows rose more as the conversation continued, and spun around to look at Alex in surprise, “My-my Agent Danvers, you just get more and more interesting. Flew a pod into outer space?”

 

Kara noticed the color rise in Alex’s cheeks and the slight pick-up in her heartbeat. She told herself quiet firmly that she was not jealous (she totally was) and that if Lena was interested in Alex… well at least Alex wouldn’t be left alone. The blonde attempted a genuine smile.

 

“Oh my gosh! Of course! The pod!” Alex yelped excitedly, grabbing her tablet and heading out the door.

 

“Your foster sister is an interesting woman…” Lena said with a head shake and a smile.

 

“Yeah….”

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

“Seriously Alex? Shouldn’t you still be working with Lena or something? We’ve been training since I came out as Supergirl.” The blonde said in exasperation. She was grateful that Alex was trying to cover every base, preparing her for the Arena…. But seriously, a month had already gone by and it was really starting to sink in that she was going to be going to a planet where she wouldn’t have her powers, and would be expected to survive.

 

“Yes, seriously. I’ve been practicing with J’onn, and we need you to be able to defend yourself against other species that probably have an advantage over you. We are going to train every day.” Alex was stretching on the edge of the training room ring. Kara could see some bruises that she didn’t remember Alex having two days ago when they went home early for a movie night. 

 

“Alex-“

 

“Kara, we need to practice. We need to be the best we can. Now, again!”

 

Kara sighed but complied. She and Alex were both in running shorts and muscle tees. They had already done a workout this morning while in gear. Afternoons were about technique. The blonde could feel the sweat dripping down her brow. Even though Alex hadn’t put the kryptonite emitters up to ‘human hero’ level, the brunette was still putting her through her paces. (It was also pretty distracting that every time they grappled with each other, it put her entirely too close to Alex for comfort… aka Kara was trying to have more chill then she previously thought possible. She would probably be doing a lot better if Alex didn’t look so good like this.)

 

Kara looked up from her position on the mat, chest heaving and pulse thumping in her ears. There was a grinning brunette above her, straddling her hips. “Again.” 

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kara knew that she shouldn’t be upset with all the time that Alex seemed to be spending with Lena Luthor. After all, Lena was her friend, and Kara trusted her… it wasn’t like she had issue with Lena being involved at the DEO, it was just that she and Alex seemed to be spending A LOT of time together. Even on the nights that Kara was allowed to go home and get some rest, Alex would sometimes be at work for hours before she came back to the apartment (Eliza had taken to staying at Alex’s apartment, so of course Alex was now staying with Kara… not that she wasn’t doing that before, but now there was an actual reason.).

 

Kara had overheard Alex mentioning to Winn that she had some plans from L Corp and that she was going to be using pieces of Mon-El’s pod to construct something. Alex had been attempting to create something that Kara could ‘carry’ with her that would also act as a way to keep her alive.

It was in month two that Winn showed her the beginnings of the suit that he and Alex had been designing for her. There were pants and practical boots. There were no more bright primary colors, the whole suite had been darkened to a midnight blue and deep red. It was more practical than her prior suit, and Winn explained that for this Earth (since Kryptonite seemed to be everywhere these days) the suit had been modified so that the very fabric of the suit would help repel Kryptonite. Since the suite covered much of her body, the effects of the radiation should be pretty much mitigated. He told her it would be ready in two weeks. 

 

Kara smiled at the new design, knowing with an absolute certainty that Alex had more then just ‘a hand’ in the design.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

Kara was curled up around Alex on the couch. The brunette hadn’t lasted ten minutes into the show they had put up from Netlflix. The blonde had insisted on them both laying down, so she was currently squished between her human and the back of the couch. She was gently running her fingers through Alex’s soft hair. All of the long days and stress had been taking a toll on Alex, but Kara had no idea how to get her to slow down.

 

Kara stretched slightly and placed a lingering kiss to Alex’s temple.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

They were down to one week now, and the tension in the DEO was palatable. Bodies seemed to only have one speed, and that was all ahead full.

 

Kara was standing in her new suit on the training circle, and waiting for Alex to come in to start their training again.

 

The brunette walked in, a box held in her hands. She was dressed today in her own suit, pistols strapped to both thighs. 

 

“Hey.” Alex’s eyes were shifting around the room, a dead give away to Kara that she was nervous.

 

Kara smiled, “Hey. Am I getting presents?” 

 

“Sort of?” Alex fidgeted for a moment with the lid of the metal box (lead of course, because Kara is the most impatient person ever… unless she’s dealing with Alex… she is willing to try to be patient for Alex.)

 

Alex walked until she was within arms reach of the Kryptonian, “Hey…. So, I just wanted to say that… well you’re my home too… and I know that we didn’t find a way out of this… but”

Kara reached over and placed a gentle hand on Alex’s forearm, her face open and encouraging. Not many people knew how sensitive the dark-haired woman was, and the blonde would do anything in her power to always let Alex know that opening up was ok.

 

Alex gave a half grin, “I know I’m not much of a believer in anything but science… but I just want you to know that… well, I believe in you. I believe in us. We can overcome anything, El Mayra. I want you to know that where ever you go… you take a part of me with you. We walk together.”

 

Kara had promised herself that she wasn’t going to just have a breakdown every time something happened, but this was different. Her heart both soared and plummeted. The words so close to what she wished to have. She put Kryptonian strength into not letting the tears she felt gathering, fall. She almost dropped to her knees when Alex opened the box.

 

Bracelets. They were bracelets… Kara tried to focus on what Alex was saying. “I wanted you to have something of me until you get back home…” Alex was flustered, but her eyes (when Kara could raise hers from the box) were determined. “Clark helped me with them… well and the AI. They won't break, and look,” Alex pressed a hidden button and the etchings on the band projected outwards into a 3D picture of the solar system. The stone in the middle of the band she held was a chocolate color so similar to Alex’s eyes that if couldn’t be a coincidence. The stone pulsed, somewhat frantically and it took a moment for Kara to realize that it matched Alex’s heartbeat. “I already set mine… but I wanted you to have this, so you can get back home. I…” Alex had teared up, and now Kara was having an even harder time keeping it together. 

The Kryptonian sunk to the floor, and Alex followed. Kara simply pulled Alex into her lab and cuddled into her as much as she could without crushing her. They were both crying, both aware that only a week was left until the Gralkin returned, and they had found no way to avoid the outcome. If they didn’t send their Champion, then the Earth would be destroyed. The benefits to winning the Games was protection from the Gralkin for their planet. It would mean that Earth should be safe… but only if Kara could make it through the games. 

 

Alex had even traveled with Kara, briefly, to see the Flash team for help… but they were down to days now, and Kara and Alex had taken to just trying to spend as much time together as possible. Kara had made sure to give Alex un-restricted access to her mother’s AI, had given her power of attorney over her finances and apartment… Alex would deal with the aftermath of her absence when she was ready.

 

“Oh Alex…”

 

“Shh. Hey, it’s going to all be ok. We’ve been training, we have the new suit and you can take whatever you can carry… it’s going to be alright. I just wanted you to know that I walk with you, no matter what Sun we’re under.”

 

“I know. I just…” Kara was sobbing into Alex’s shoulder now, but raised her head to bump foreheads with her older (sort of… phantom zone doesn’t count) foster sister. She had missed Alex the last few weeks as she and Lena finished whatever Macguiver backpack they had been working on for her. When this had started, she was the most worried about Alex. Worried that she would wallow in self-hatred for not being able to protect her from this… but now she was fairly sure that Lena wouldn’t let her. It had hurt when Lena had gushed about Alex to her when they had met for lunch, she could see the appreciation on the CEO’s face… and recognized it for what it was. They would be a good match… 

 

Kara reached out for the band that Alex held out to her, and smiled as the seam disappeared as it closed around her wrist. The second the metal touched her arm, the blue stone set in the remaining bracelet flickered to life to match the cadence of her own heartbeat. Two halves now. Kara reached into the box and drew the band out. 

 

Alex let out a watery chuckle, “Way better then the last bracelets we had, huh?”

 

Kara smiled at remembrance of the friendship bracelets that they had made before Alex had left for college. ‘So, I’m always with you.’ Alex had said with a smile, and Kara had worn it until Alex had stopped calling every week… until Alex had started what Kara knew now was her downward spiral… but that was so long ago... Now the distance would be too great even for Supergirl to travel.

 

Kara clicked the band around Alex’s wrist and watched it become one piece of metal, no way to remove it. This time they were permanent. She would carry Alex with her now wherever she went.

 

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

It was time, and Kara wasn’t ready. She wasn’t ready to give up her home… and she wished desperately that Alex hadn’t said her goodbyes already, and said sadly that she just couldn’t stand there and let her go. Kara had understood, and so waited with J’onn on one side of her and Superman on the other. She was dressed in her new suit, a bag over her shoulder and a gun on one hip, a blade on the other. Her retractable helmet was inside her high-tech pack, and she was as ready as she would ever be to give up everything she loved.

 

The platform flashed into existence and slowly lowered to where the city had built a platform for their Champion. 

 

“Greetings Earth!” Boomed the same Gralkin from before, “We have come to retrieve your Champion! Who from the house of El, does Earth send?”

 

“Kara Zor-El!” she stated loudly, confidently… like she wasn’t dying on the inside, and like she was wasn't listening with all her might to Alex’s too quick heart-rate.

 

“We accept-“

 

“I take my mate’s place, as is the right under the Arena’s law!”

 

Kara whipped around, finding Alex easily parting the crowd. She wore a variation of her Magnetic suit, but the material was dark grey with an alien sheen, and there were winding bands of light grey up her arms. Her boots seemed to be plated with a material similar to the boots favored for her motorcycle. There was a band attached to the top of the neck, that Kara recognized it as the prototype helmet that Alex and Lena had been working on. Her hands were covered and clenched confidently at her sides. Her own bonding bracelet (because that is what Kara knew it was now) flashed orange in the last rays of the sun.

 

Kara watched on in horror as Alex approached, (No, no, no… this couldn’t be happening) “No! No, I volunteer! We aren’t… we aren’t mates! J’onn!” Kara looked pleadingly at J’onn beside her, and saw the decision in his eyes. 

Oh Rao… and Kara saw the last months with a new clarity. Alex and Lena, working tirelessly in the lab, Alex always insisting that they spar harder, with less Kryptonite emitters… she hadn’t been training Kara… she had been training herself. Winn, Kal-El…. Oh no, they had planned this, they had known!

 

“We have been bonded,” Alex raised her arm, and the stone in both of there bracelets flashed, and suddenly from Alex’s wrist projected her AI. 

 

The silence was deafening, as the humans gathered looked on in confusion. The image of Alura stood tall in the courtyard.

 

“Tell them.” Alex projected her voice confidently, her shoulders back and determination on her face.

 

“Kara and Alexandra -El were registered as bonded seven Earth days ago. Alex-El has been registered as a member of the house of El.”

 

“NO!” Kara leapt towards Alex, but was restrained by Superman and J’onn. “Let me go! Alex!”  
Kara struggled, but even if she was stronger then Superman, she could not escape from them both. Neither would meet her eyes as she thrashed.

 

“The Gralkin accepts one of the House of El, Alexandra-El.”

Kara continued to struggle, eyes glowing red. “Alex! Alex don’t do this!!”

 

Alex walked passed them, stepping onto the platform. She reached up to press on the House of El crest (in Kara’s colors) placed over her heart. The backpack she wore reached out and engulfed her into armor that bore a striking resemblance to Lex Luthor’s and Lillian Luther’s Lex-O- suit.

 

“Thank you, Earth!" And then he raised his arms to the crowd and swung them to Alex. "Your Champion!”

 

The confused crowd, none of them knowing who this mystery woman was, who claimed to be Supergirl’s mate… took her place on the platform as Supergirl thrashed in the grip of Superman and another Alien. 

 

Alex raised her chin in defiance as Kara seemed to slump under the weight of her realizations. Alex had tricked her, they all had tricked her. Lena had thrown her off the trail, but now everything was blindingly clear. They had all let Alex sacrifice herself for her… for this planet that didn’t care about Supergirl’s hero.

 

“You were right.” The whisper would have only been heard by a Kryptonian, and Kara heard it loud and clear as the platform started to lift, “I would be nothing without you. I love you.” Their eyes met briefly, and for once they were open, letting Kara see everything that the Kryptonian had ever dreamed of reflected in them. And then in a flash Alex was gone.

The wail of anguish that Supergirl let out could be understood by everyone present, as she collapsed to the ground in defeat.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kara had disappeared after her attempt to follow the ship had (of course) failed. Mon-El’s pod had been disassembled to create Alex’s backpack/ hover deck (things she had found out from guilty looking people, who she thought had been her family and friends). 

Superman had shaken his head at her sadly, when she had attempted to steal his pod from the fortress of solitude. It had been damaged in his crash to Earth, and even if she could repair it, she couldn’t get to Alex now. She had attacked him when he had attempted to comfort her. She had disappeared for over a month, all of the world waiting for the reappearance of one of their heroes.

 

There was a lot of speculation in the tabloids of the mystery woman who had sacrificed herself for their heroin. Was she really Supergirl’s mate? Was Supergirl a lesbian? Was the dark figure an Alien as well? 

 

A haggard Kryptonian had landed with more force then necessary in the hall of the DEO. J’onn had been notified, and found Kara hunched over in Alex’s office chair.

 

“How could you do it? How could you?” Her voice was watery, and her hands shook in the fists she held in her lap (So she wouldn’t destroy Alex’s belongings, she had to save what she had left of her).

“It was Alex’s choice…” He ignored the red-rimmed eyes that looked up to stare at him accusingly. “She made a valid argument… she would have better odds Kara… but also, we knew this would destroy her.”

 

“Did you know?” It wasn’t angry, just defeated.

 

J’onn didn’t need to ask what she meant. “Yes.”

 

Kara curled a little more into herself, letting out a pitiful whimper.

 

“When I met her… Alex was in a bad place. Her self-loathing was literally killing her. She broadcast her pain so loudly, that I couldn’t not see. I gave her a way to love you, and put that love to something she didn’t feel was tainted, dark. She could protect you… from everyone else, but also from herself.” J’onn moved towards her slowly, crouched down and handed her a small crystal. “She said you would know what to do with this.”

 

Kara clasp the crystal, nodding.

 

“You loved her too… I’m sorry I didn’t see it before… Maybe…”

 

Kara looked up at him, broken and desperate for him to understand. “Always. I have always loved her.”

 

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

Kara sat alone, the crystal sat on the table as she stroked her finger reverently over the steadily pulsing stone in her bracelet. She had briefly spoken to Eliza (who had apparently also known Alex’s plan), but made it clear that she did not want Eliza to come back yet.

 

She had showered, changed into some of Alex’s well-worn sweats, and was sitting in the living room of Alex’s apartment. (she knew that Alex had spent so much more time at the blonde’s apartment, but she couldn’t deal with that place yet. She couldn’t walk into her home and not feel Alex’s loss. Here she could pretend and still be near to the things that smelled and felt like Alex.) She sighed and picked up the stone, setting it into the crystal projector.

 

“Hello Kara Zor-El.” The Alura AI watched her form the place she was projected in the room. “How may I assist you?”

 

“Alex, she left this for me.”

 

“Yes. Alexandra El left a message to be delivered to Kara Danvers-El. Do you wish to review that message at this time?”

 

“Yes.” 

 

The Alura projection blinked out of existence, and Kara was left with a phantom projection of Alex. Alex in her comfy jeans and a worn long sleeve (that Kara was pretty sure was actually hers).

 

“I know you’re probably furious with me.” Kara couldn’t help but agree, “I know that this was a pretty shitty thing to do… but Kara, I can’t loose you. I know that this is such a selfish thing to do, but I know I just couldn’t stay here and know you were out there, somewhere.” There was a pause as Alex ran her hand through her hair. Kara could see Alex’s bonding bracelet as the sleeve fell down at the gesture. “Please don’t be too angry at everyone… they didn’t help me just to hurt you. None of us would EVER want to hurt you Kara… but I couldn’t let you go… I’m sorry I tricked you into the bonding, I’m sorry for everything… but something I’ve realized… and I know, yay me with my super late realizations” the Alex projection paused to give a self-deprecating shrug “… but the one thing I’m not sorry about, is loving you. It’s pretty cowardly that I’m telling you now, but I just wanted you to know. You deserve love, you deserve,” Alex’s projection gave a soft smile, tears in her eyes and all Kara wanted to do was reach out and sooth the hurt on Alex’s face, “You deserve everything. So, you can yell at me when I get home if you want to… but please understand that everyone who helped me only did it, because they know I would have done whatever I needed to keep you safe. I love you.”

 

The projection flickered and Alura took Alex’s place again. Kara ran her sleeve over her dripping nose and sat up a little straighter on the couch. “Do you wish to save Alexandra El’s message?”

 

“Yes,” Kara said with a watery croak. “Yes, save her message.”

 

“As you wish. Would you like an update on Alexandra El at this time?”

 

“What?” Kara straightened so fast that her foot caught the edge of the coffee table and flung it across the room. She would worry about repairing the wall later.

 

“Would you like an update on Alexandra El at this time?”

 

“What do you mean update?”

“Alexandra El has split my AI program so it could be utilized at more then one location. This seemed logical for aiding in terrain and species evaluation in the Arena. The second redundancy of my presence is linked from her bonding bracelet to yours. I am fully capable of projecting from either or both bracelets.”

 

“You can send messages back and forth?”

 

“Theoretically, yes. The split was not accomplished for this purpose, but could be used as a form of two-way communication.”

 

Kara could feel hope bloom in her chest for the first time since Alex had stepped on the platform in her stead. If Alex had help, if she had the AI and all the tools… well there was a much better chance that Alex would come home… but there was no reason to not give her a better one.

 

“Yes, and I want you to send a message to Alex. You tell her that her mate is waiting for her at home, and she better not disappoint her. I’m nothing without her too.”

**Author's Note:**

> So that's a rap for this one. I don't think that this will ever have a follow up. If you want any of what I imagine would happen after this, then keep reading here, if not... well I hope you enjoyed!
> 
> xxxxx ending xxxxx
> 
> Alex would of course get to the Arena and have a bunch of hard stuff to do, but she's got Kara waiting at home (plus, bonus: the Gralkin will keep Earth pretty safe aka Kara safe, if Alex wins).  
> They communicate through the AI, and Winn actually is able to televise the feed from the Arena, but only sporadically at the same time every day. The world watches her zip around in her suite and using the suite in it's other form with is a hover deck (think the goblin in that horrible Spiderman movie. same principle) and be a general badass. Her new suite is way cooler then the other, and she gets to wield a sword (that isn't killing Kara's relatives). She becomes friends with a chick with wings, Kara is jelly but of course Alex would never stray. Lots of exciting stuff happens, and Alex and her new friend are 2 of the final 5. Alex gets honorable mention because she saved her friend even though she could have ended the games sooner if she had just killed her. The Gralkins give her a band that would function much the same way her suite would, so when she goes home, she gets to be a badass superhero that actually has some super strength and speed. btw, fun side effect, she will live longer. Oh... and of course as soon as Alex got back, she had an ecstatic  
> Kryptonian greeting. Yeah for finally owning up to their feelings!


End file.
